Thanks to the generosity of the Fat Quarter Shop I was able to make a festive Valentines mini to festoon my kitchen table for February. (Try saying that 5 times fast.) And today I'll share how I did it. Pretty simple - definitely not rocket science, but it's always nice when someone else does the figuring, right?

In addition to the Charm Pack I used ¼ yard of sashing fabric, ¼ yard for binding and 2/3 yard for backing. You will only need 21 squares for the pieced blocks, which means a couple of things: 1) you could make another set of blocks=another mini quilt for a friend or 2) you could use your left over squares to piece a back or as a scrappy binding. So many options.

8. From 2 of the remaining sashing strips carefully cut (2) 1¾” x 21" sashing strips. (If you cut carefully, you should be able to get (2) 21" strips out of a 1¾” x width-of-fabric strip.) Cutting the sashing to the correct size, rather than just sewing it on and trimming the end, will help your mini quilt stay square. Pin the strips to the the sets of 3 blocks. Find the center of your strip (10½”) and the center of your set of blocks. Pin at the center point and then pin at either end of the strip/set of blocks. Then evenly space the rest of the pins along the edge to be sewn. (If you need help visualizing this technique, go here and scroll down to the part about pinning.)

9. Sew sashing strips as shown at the top and bottom and between the three rows. Press toward the sashing.

10. From your remaining sashing strips cut (2) 1¾” x 23½” strips for the final borders on the quilt. Use the same method as above for pinning on the strips before sewing to help keep your quilt square. Sew using ¼" seam allowance. Press seams toward the sashing strips

11. After carefully pressing quilt top and backing fabric (use at least a 25" square piece of backing") pin-baste the back, batting, and quilt top together. (For more on quilt basting go here.)

And there you have a quick little mini. I love how the simplicity of this quilt shows off the fabrics. It's a quick project and using a charm pack is a simple way to get a variety of prints.

It would be very simple to make a larger version - 4 blocks by 4 blocks using a single Charm pack as well. You would need 36 charms for 16 finished blocks, 5/8 yard sashing, 1/4 yard binding and a yard for backing.

Be sure to stop by the other ladies sharing great tutorials as part of the Simply Charmed Blog Hop:

As part of this Blog Hop we have another giveaway thanks to Leah offering a $25 gift certificate to Burgundy Buttons. Just leave a comment on this post to be entered. If you want to make it interesting, tell me what your favorite Valentine's candy is. Or you can just say Hi. GIVEAWAY CLOSED

I love the "Simply Charmed" feature! It is so wonderful to see what can be made with a smaller amount of fabric. Thanks for the wonderful tutorial. Reese's Cup Eggs would have to be my favorite Valentine's treat. It is hard to improve on the original, but something about the eggs and the trees is just a notch above :-)

Super cute! I'm not a big fan of Easter candy... at least nothing in particular jumps out at me. It all just feels like the same candy repackaged in Easter pastels. Don't even get me started on the eggs filled with goop... gives me the heebeejeebees ;-)

Cute table topper! If we're really industrious we could make them for every holiday and/or season! How I wish I had 30 hours in every day. My favorite Valentine's candy is anything with chocolate and coconut, but I try to keep it out of the house to avoid over-indulging!

What a great looking Valentine's Day table topper Amy. Thank you. Thank you for the quick figures on making it larger as well. I might decide to use this for the baby quilt that I should have already started given the fact my Granddaughter is due in less than -ACK! just realized - a WEEK! Ooh this old Grandma better get stitchin. LOL Oh wait..... Valentine's Day. Yes, I need to get that figured out too and this is super cute. I wish I had pink and red fabrics in my stash so I could make this too. Great looking table topper though. Thank you for the tutorial.

And my favorite Valentine candy or any for that matter, is the original Fannie May truffles or trinidads. I LOVE those. I don't want the fancier ones but just the regular yummy chocolate truffles. SO good.

Darling little quilt, and nice tutorial too. Especially for a new sewer like me-- I need all the help I can get with just the techniques of stuff. Fave candies are chewie ginger candies! or is it chocolate covered almonds, dipped in cinnamon? Mmmmm....

Very cute! My favorite is dark chocolate, any time of year. My Mom always gives me some Dove Dark Chocolate hearts (still, even though I live 2 hours away and have my own kids now) and I try to hide them from my husband and kids! ;)

Love this! I have this thing for nine patches lately. Well bear paws too, but that is it's own story! A favorite valentine candy. Hmm...I'd rather have a small box of chocolates from a "real" candy store than a large box of the "commercial" chocolates. Oh, and soft centers too!

Love this mini! I am usually very practical in my quilting (I make it, someone uses it) I don't often think about decorating...but I might have to go dig up some "happy" scraps & make one to keep the winter blues away.Favorite Valentine candy? Sarris chocolate covered pretzels! Don't know if I will get any this year as they just had a fire at the candy shop...*sigh*

Thanks for sharing this very clearly written tutorial. We all have scraps that can be turned into usable charms.My favorite valentine candy is anything made of dark chocolate. Chocolate covered cherries are high on the list.

Mini's are always so cute and easy to finish for those of us who have a hard time with finishes....:) I like cinnamon red hots for Valentines...that and caramel filled chocolates...I could eat the entire box!

As for favorite candy, well, it has to be the little hearts with messages on them. They taste gross (of course they do, they're not chocolate!), but it wouldn't seem like Valentine's Day without them. :)

I really like your little charm pack mini-quilt. It's darling! I have never been big on making decorations of any kind for Valentine's day, but I think I'm tempted to after seeing your cute pink/red/white mini. I love anything chocolate!

What a darling table topper! Brightens up the table for sure. Thanks so much for the great tutorial and the figures for making it larger. Would be cute in brights for summer or in autumn colors as well. Well my favorite candy is chocolate and if it's combined with carmel or peanut butter, all the better. hehe.

Thank you and Burgundy Buttons for the great giveaway and a chance to win.

Thanks for the great tut! I always love chocolate of course, but I also love Valentine's sourballs. Our local grocery store gets a mix in with cherry, lemonade, and grapefruit. Yum!! Too bad they are already out for this year. As a PS: I just finished a table runner using your tutorial. It turned out so cute!

Thanks for the fun tute. Valentines is fun because it brings red and pinks into the boring after Christmas blags.Unfortunately, almost any chocolate is my favorite, and pretty much any time. My palate is not discriminating at all. I try to enjoy the holiday and I love the excitement in the air, I just try to ignore the food clues.

Cute wee mini! We don't do much for Valentine's Day sweets over here other than chocolates and love hearts, and being without a Valentine (and on a diet) I'll not be enjoying either of those this year lol

wow this looks beautiful. I have a couple of charm packs that i couldn't decide what to do with but now i think i will bw using your tutorial. Oh and my favorite candy for Valentines day is Chocolate!! who doesn't love chocolate!

I'm working on a nine patch quilt right now but hadn't thought to make a smaller one for a table topper - good idea! Candy...how can I choose? The new cherry M&Ms are good. :) But I'm a bit old fashioned so I'd have to say Millionaires! blessings, marlene

Hi! Valentines candy fav has gotta be chocolate covered cherries, right? Oh and I adore that sweet little table topper. I want one NOW... guess I better get to work. hee hee Thanks for the giveaway and the pattern. - sunshdws at yahoo dot com

I just love this table topper. I am new to Sewing and fell in love with all the different quilt designs.I am working on my first baby quilt and can't wait to start another project. I love Peanut Butter and Pretzels. Thanks for being part of this great blog hop and for giving away this great charm pack.

I love this - so simple and cute! I definitely need more Valentine's Day decorations and this would be perfect for my end table. Thanks for sharing (as you rightly point out, it's always much easier when it's someone else who does the figuring!).

Oh, this mini is destined to be a classic! In blues and whites, it is perfect for a snowy winter day. In green and whites, it is perfect for St. Patrick's Day! Good design, and your directions are clear and complete.

Thank you so much for the great idea. I think I need to make that one and practice my free motion quilting! My favorite chocolate, for Valentines or any other time, is Lindt truffles, especially dark chocolate - yum!

my favorite isn't really a candy, but a candy coated... and that is Chocolate Covered Strawberries.. I make these every year for the girls and we pick them up for a lunch at Red Lobster with Mom and Dad, we take them flowers and these strawberries and little heart boxes of chocolates for their children.

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